Giving victims a voice

THIS ARTWORK by 14-year-old Shan Wang, an eighth grader at Landrum Middle School, appears in the 2004 Betty Griffin House calendar.

Kristen Shea, a St. Augustine attorney, triumphed over David Alan Shuey, a convicted serial rapist. Not as an attorney, but as a victim.

Shuey attempted to sexually assault Shea on Aug. 3, 2003, while Shea was sunbathing at Guana River State Park.

Despite the attempt, Shea says she still "does all the things she loves and lives a full and free life."

"I'm very interested in empowering women," Shea said, "showing them how to avoid the situation and then respond." She chose to share her experience during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which is observed during April.

On the day of the crime, Shea had dialed 911 without hitting send when seeing Shuey approaching her.

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THIS ARTWORK by 17-year-old Allison Hartman, a junior at Nease High School, appears in the 2004 Betty Griffin House calendar.

"He had asked me the time" Shea recalls. "When I had asked him to leave, he grabbed my phone and pulled a gun. I started screaming as loud as I could, but the closest people were about 1,500 feet away. He threatened to kill and rape me."

Shea took action against her attacker by diving for the cell phone, which he had dropped on a towel, and wrestling with Shuey for the gun.

"It's important that women are physically fit," said Shea, 34. "It's a good safety precaution to know that you are strong enough if you do get attacked."

After getting to her feet, Shea ran for help toward the nearest people, the Rodgers' family.

Reacting quickly, Jessica Rodgers made a dash for her cell phone in the car.

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THIS ARTWORK by 11-year-old Chelsea Mayes, an fifth grader at Cunningham Creek Elementary School, appears in the 2004 Betty Griffin House calendar.

Rodgers spotted a Department of Environmental Protection officer in the parking lot and waved him down. DEP acted very quickly.

Shuey's trial took place this year on Jan. 24 and 25. He was found guilty and now sits in the St. Johns County jail, awaiting trial on the second of what may be several more charges. This second trial concerns the assault of a woman in Ponte Vedra Beach, and there are also charges pending in other jurisdictions.

Something positive that Shea takes out of her experience is that she can help other men and women, she says.

"You can be an attorney on your day off and get attacked." To recover from the attack, Shea, a lawyer who works on immigration cases, talked to people about it.

And that's what this year's Sexual Assault Awareness Month theme is -- "Talk About It."

On April 7, Sexual Assault Awareness Day, Shea was planning to read a poem at Cafe Eleven for "Speak Out Against Sexual Violence" but fell ill. Nicolle Bauer and Mary Johnstone were the women who set up the candlelit poetry reading and survivor speakout.

"(Events like these) really reach people on both an emotional and intellectual level," said Bauer, sexual assault recovery program coordinator for the Betty Griffin House said. "A lot of myths associated with rape are not completely eliminated until someone is touched emotionally. It's that point where they say, 'Now I know.' There's a whole softening that happens."

Sobering experience

An experience that Johnstone had when she was 25 years old motivated her to go into counseling, her current career. A daughter of a friend had been sexually assaulted, and the friend asked Johnstone to come over and just sit and keep them company.

"A man had broken in, held a knife to her throat, and brutally raped and battered this girl," Johnstone said. "He had sodomized her, just hit every orifice he could. It was so awful."

Johnstone said she was young and had never been exposed to many evils at that time.

"I felt so terrible but I just kept thinking: 'I'm glad it didn't happen to me,' " said Johnstone, tearing with remorse.

"It was just so awful. Here she was telling me all of the grotesque details, and all I could think about was how lucky I was that it wasn't me."

Johnstone sat with the mother and daughter that whole night.

The experience left her more knowledgeable about the world, she says. It also empowered her that they had trusted her.

"They say in the field of counseling, there has to be this distance (from the patient)," Johnstone said. "But I still cry with the victims. I'm still not immune to that."

At the April 7 reading and speakout, bags containing T-shirt, pins, markers and other items were distributed.

Approximately 35 people attended, including Debbie Rogers, a representative from the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence. Nine individuals read poetry, and one person spoke on her experience.

In evaluating sexual assault remedies, both Bauer and Johnstone strongly encourage counseling after an attack.

"It gives victims a safe place to fall," Johnstone said. "There are times that people need to be themselves, open up, laugh, cry, scream, rant, just let go. Counseling is there to provide backup and create a support system."

Though Shea did not seek out professional help, she doesn't look down upon the method.

"(Victims) should find their own comfort level," Shea says. "Some people think it makes them weak to go to counseling or whatever, but to me, it seems like the smart thing to do. Anything that helps someone deal with a difficult experience is wonderful and should be done."

In determining what kind of friend or person to disclose her incident to at the time, Shea says the people she confided in were obviously ones she could trust.

"These were people who exhibited respect towards all the people around them. They were discrete, compassionate and kind-hearted."

If you are ever in a vulnerable circumstance, Shea recommends staying aware, knowing who's around and realizing those who might be approaching, as well as carrying your cell phone at all times.